The present embodiments relate to high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). In particular, the treatment region from an image is determined for the HIFU system.
In HIFU therapy, a HIFU therapy device ablates by heat, and an imaging system monitors the progress of the ablation. The imaging system displays an image, allowing the user to indicate the desired target region for therapy. In order to dose the correct regions of interest, the imaging system's coordinates are registered with the HIFU therapy device's coordinates.
In an integrated system, the therapy transducer and imaging transducer have a set or fixed relative position. As a result, the transformation is static and therefore may be determined in advance. For systems where the imaging system may view the therapy device (e.g., the imaging scan includes scanning the HIFU transducer), the coordinate transformation may be determined from fiducial markers at known locations on the HIFU transducer. These fiducial markers are detected within images. A transform may be determined from the detected markers. However, in the circumstance where the relationship is not fixed, the fiducial markers are not available, and/or when the imaging device cannot see the HIFU transducer, an alternative method to determine the coordinate transformation is needed.